Anonymous, Application of
| Decision Date | 21 November 1977 |
| Citation | 92 Misc.2d 224,399 N.Y.S.2d 857 |
| Parties | Application of ANONYMOUS, Petitioner, for leave to gain access to the sealed adoption records pursuant to Section 114 of the Domestic Relations Law. Surrogate's Court, Queens County |
| Court | New York Surrogate Court |
Mona C. Engel, Albertson, for petitioner.
Michael K. Feigenbaum, Lake Success, Guardian ad Litem for Natural Parents.
LOUIS D. LAURINO, Surrogate.
This is a proceeding by an adult adoptive person for access and inspection of the sealed court record of his adoption.
The controlling statute ( § 114 Domestic Relations) provides that all "papers" filed with the court in an adoption proceeding be placed in a sealed record and that no one be permitted access thereto except for good cause shown after due notice has been given to "the adoptive parents and to such additional persons as the court may direct".
By way of review, it was the opinion of the court at the commencement of this proceeding that the petitioner's natural parents were necessary parties herein and in order to satisfy due process and insure their continued anonymity, the court designated a person to receive process in their behalf (see prior decision, Matter of Anonymous, 89 Misc.2d 132, 390 N.Y.S.2d 779). When service of process was thus completed, the designated person was appointed their guardian ad litem, and pursuant to the court's decision, the scant information provided by the adoption record concerning the identity of the petitioner's natural parents was revealed to him. It was through the guardian's extraordinary efforts that he located the present whereabouts of both his wards. After communicating with them and counseling them of their rights, the guardian received the consent of each of them to reveal their present names and addresses to the petitioner information which, in fact, is far in excess of that provided by the sealed record.
In view of his wards' consent, the guardian applied to the court for advice and direction, and it was the court's opinion that despite their consent and the default in appearance of the adoptive parents, a hearing was still necessary in order for the court to independently determine whether the petitioner could show the requisite "good cause" for the granting of his petition. (Matter of Anonymous, N.Y.L.J. June 20, 1977, p. 12, col. 1.)
It must be remembered that the legislative purpose for the confidentiality of adoption records is inextricably intertwined with the legislature's broader sociological plan to provide a child with a substitute family through the adoption process. It is for this reason that the statute ( § 114 Domestic Relations) requires that the court act as an agent of the state to satisfy itself that there is present sufficient facts which warrant compromising the secrecy surrounding an adoption. This legislative requirement is...
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